Exposure and response prevention worksheet
Group therapy first impression activities are a quick way to help clients get comfortable with each other and notice how they come across. This article provides an overview of the first impression activity and example first impression ice breaker prompts to use with individual and group therapy clients.
We’ve included a free downloadable group therapy first impression activity worksheet you can save to your electronic health record (EHR) to use in your practice.
What is the first impression activity?
First impression activities are used in various settings, such as workplace training, group therapy sessions, and classroom activities. For example, when meeting people for the first time, we often interpret others based on their appearance, body language, eye contact, and verbal responses.
In a therapy setting, using a first impression activity can help participants increase awareness of how their body language and words come across to others, strengthen their communication skills, and accurately convey how they feel.
Example first impression icebreaker prompts
Whether you’re a therapist providing individual or group therapy, the following prompts can be used as an icebreaker in either setting. In individual therapy, clients can answer the questions about group members by thinking about you instead:
What incorrect assumptions do others make about you? For example, “People think I’m smart because I wear glasses.”
Which group member do you think has a dog?
What is something you wish others knew about you? For example, “I wish others knew that I am shy when meeting new people, but I soon open up.”
What do you worry about when meeting others for the first time? For example, “I worry that people will think I’m rude if I don’t answer right away. It takes me a few minutes to process and think about what I want to say.”
Looking at your therapist or group leader for the first time, what would you say about them? For example, “They seem smart because they’re a therapist!”
Of the other group members, who do you think was the most outgoing as a kid?
If your personality were a color, what color would it be, and why?
What are some of the ways you try to make a good first impression? For example, do you try to maintain eye contact and smile?
If you’re meeting other members of a group for the first time, what social rules do you tend to follow? For example, if someone asked the group a question, would you wait for others to share their answers before speaking up?
Which group member do you think you might have the most in common with, and why?
What do you think your outward appearance says about your personality?
What do you think brings people to a group like this? For example, do you think people join to feel less alone or to learn new coping skills?
Name two positive qualities you notice about each group member. For example, “John seems friendly because he smiled when he walked in.”
If you could communicate something to other group members before meeting them for the first time, what would you say?
When each person has had a chance to answer the questions, ask the client or group members to reflect on how accurate their answers were, what surprised them, how their demeanor may have shaped others’ first impressions, and how open-minded they were while answering.
How to use the first impression activity worksheet
You can download and use the first impression activity worksheet in several ways:
Use the worksheet in session as an icebreaker activity.
Use the group therapy first impression activity to encourage clients to share more about themselves with other group members.
Combine this worksheet with other cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) worksheets, such as our CBT triangle worksheet, cognitive distortions worksheet, CBT for anxiety worksheets, and CBT thought record.
Pair the activity with related reading, including 10 cognitive distortions and how to help clients work with them and CBT for PTSD.
Share the first impression activity worksheet with coworkers, interns, or supervisees.
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